Kate And The Beanstalk Views

General Goods

Kate is the clever and confident heroine in this lively retelling of the classic fairy tale. Upon climbing the beanstalk, Kate meets a disguised fairy queen who tells her the fearsome giant stole a knighta#39s castle long ago. Beautiful illustrations complement the story of how Kate captures three of the giant #39s treasures and learns about her family.

Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum'un,I smell the blood of an Englishwoman.Be she alive or be she dead,I'll grind her bones to make my bread.Mary Pope Osborne's funny, magical retelling of the favorite tale and Giselle Potter's enchanting illustrations feature a new and inspiring heroine named Kate for today's audience. Readers will cheer on this resourceful, gutsy girl as she outsmarts the famously greedy giant.

Much to her mother's great consternation, Kate trades their cow for a few magic beans. Her mother tosses them out the window, and the beanstalk grows high into the sky. When Kate climbs the beanstalk, she meets an old woman who tells her that the castle she sees once belonged to a knight and his wife. Kate agrees to go to the castle and retrieve three precious treasures from the giant. The familiar old tale has been rewritten with a plucky, resourceful heroine and a lively, often humorous, pleasing-to-the-ear text. Potter's perspectives stretch the reader's imagination. The giant is truly a menacing figure. Effective use of line and the soft palette bring out the drama and the wonder of this cleverly retold tale. 2000, Atheneum, $16.00. Ages 5 up. Reviewerd: Sharon Salluzzo